QINZHOU: “Malaysia’s durians are the best in the world!” said Secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Qinzhou Committee, Wang Gebing, during a courtesy call by a Malaysian delegation led by Minister of Agriculture and Agro-based Industry, Datuk Seri Ahmad Shabery Cheek here on Friday.

Wang said the ‘king of fruits’, especially the Musang King, has always been loved by the Chinese, and that they look forward to seeing a positive outcome from ongoing negotiations with the Malaysian government to export fresh durians to the nation.

Minister of Agriculture and Agro-based Industry, Datuk Seri Ahmad Shabery Cheek (left) shaking hand with Secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Qinzhou Committee, Wang Gebing during a courtesy call by a Malaysian delegation in China, today.During the meeting, both leaders also discussed about other possibilities of enhancing Malaysia-China ties through Qinzhou, including strengthening the halal food industry in China, a research and development centre for herbal medicine, as well as trading marine products. Bernama Photo

Ahmad Shabery, who is in China in conjunction with the highly-anticipated Malaysian Durian Festival 2017 (MDF2017) in Guangxi, replied that the durian has always been a symbol of love and happiness in Malaysia, and that the Malaysian government decided to hold the festival to signify the sharing of its happiness with the Chinese people.

“(During an earlier visit in 2016), I asked everybody I met in China: Do you like durians? I was surprised by such a positive response, which is why I proposed running a durian festival here.

“(On this visit), I brought along players in the durian as well as bird’s nest industries, to bring happiness and share things that we Malaysians like,” he told Qinzhou’s highest-ranked leader.

Durian is planted on nearly half the land cultivated for fruits in the country last year, according to the Agriculture Department.